Funeral Time: Tuesday,
November 5th at 12:00PM
William Anderson LaBach, 74,
attorney at law, died of
cancer October 28 in
Georgetown, KY. The son of
Mary (Anderson) and James
Parker LaBach, he was born
December 29, 1938 in
Lexington, KY. A graduate of
Henry Clay High School and
Transylvania University, he
received M.A. and Ph.D.
degrees in mathematics from
the University of Illinois
at Champaign-Urbana. He
completed a fellowship at
the Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton, NJ and
then held faculty positions
in mathematics at
Northwestern and Florida
State Universities.
Having decided to make a
career change, Mr. LaBach
earned a J.D. (law) degree
and an M.A. in history from
the University of Kentucky.
He practiced law,
specializing in civil and
criminal litigation, in
Fayette and Scott Counties
from 1975 until his death.
He was the author of two
books on law and the Supreme
Court, “The Supreme Court
Fails Its First Test:
Chisholm v. Georgia” and
“America Wrestles with Race
and Civil Rights: Dred
Scott, Brown and Boumediene.”
Bill descended from many
well-known Kentuckians,
including Statesman Henry
Clay, Railroad Entrepreneur
C.D. Chenault, Senator James
Brown and Judge Watts
Parker. This may partially
explain his great interest
in history and genealogy.
But Dr. LaBach never felt
defined by his past. He was
always in accomplishing new
things on his own.
Mr. LaBach’s many interests
included gardening and
genealogy. He served as
president of the Lexington
Rose Society, the Kentucky
Genealogical Society and as
a national officer of the
Society of Descendants of
Washington’s Army at Valley
Forge. He was a life member
of the Society of the
Cincinnati, Sons of the
American Revolution and the
Jamestowne Society. In his
later years, he became a
popular substitute teacher
in the Fayette and Scott
County schools.
Mr. LaBach is survived by
his wife Karen Mitchell
LaBach, a brother, James
Parker LaBach Jr. of
Overland Park, KS, a sister,
Mary Ellyn LaBach Hutton of
Cincinnati, OH, a
half-brother, Frederick
Avery LaBach of Raleigh, NC,
a nephew, John Stafford
Hutton of Cincinnati, four
nieces, Rebecca Hutton Fink
of Tipp City, OH, Elizabeth
LaBach Hutton of Cincinnati,
Kathryn LaBach Taliaferro
and Elaine LaBach Hamm of
Overland Park, KS, one
grand-nephew and nine
grand-nieces. Visitation
will be 3-5 p.m. and 7-9
p.m. November 4 at Kerr
Brothers Funeral Home on
East Main St. in Lexington.
Services will be November 5
at 12 p.m. at Kerr Brothers.
In lieu of flowers,
contributions may be made to
the Lexington History
Museum.
